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Tag: pontiac

March 8, 1969 – Pontiac Trans Am debuts
8Mar By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day

March 8, 1969 – Pontiac Trans Am debuts

Pontiac Firebird Trans Am, left, on display at the 1969 Chicago Auto Show (CAS) The Pontiac Trans Am is a classic American muscle car that has become synonymous with power, speed, and style. It started as a performance package for the Pontiac Firebird, which got the sheet pulled off on this day in 1969 at the Chicago Auto Show during the peak of the muscle car era in the United States. The Trans Am was designed to be a high-performance vehicle, with a range of upgrades that included a tuned suspension, larger brakes, and a powerful 440 cubic inch V8 engine that produced 345 horsepower. The car also featured a unique front fascia, rear spoiler, and side-exit exhausts that gave it a distinctive look and sound. That first year, only 689 Trans Am hardtop coupes and 8 Trans Am convertibles...
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October 26, 1909 – General Motors buys Cartercar
26Oct By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day

October 26, 1909 – General Motors buys Cartercar

Byron Carter founded Cartercar in Jackson, Michigan in 1905, but moved the company moved to Detroit the following year. He again shifted locations, settling in Pontiac, Michigan in 1907, where production would remain through the life of the brand, even after General Motors purchased in on this day in 1909. 1906 Cartercar advertisement General Motors buys Cartercar as sales slump At the time of its acquisition by GM, Cartercar was slowly but surely increasing its sales numbers annually. In 1906 the company sold 101 vehicles, jumping to 325 in 1907. William Durant, founder of GM, said people advised him not to purchase Cartercar, but he had his reasons. He said of the deal, "They say I shouldn't have bought Cartercar. Well, how was anyone to know that Carter wasn't to be the thing?...
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September 26, 1982 – Knight Rider debuts
26Sep By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
Business

September 26, 1982 – Knight Rider debuts

On this day in 1982 the TV show Knight Rider made its prime time debut. The show starred David Hasselhoff as crime fighter Michael Knight who drove a customized 1982 Pontiac Trans AM named K.I.T.T., which stood for Knight Industries Two Thousands. The following is a previously written description of the car from Wikipedia: K.I.T.T. was designed by Michael Scheffe using Pontiac's 1982 Trans Am. Michael Scheffe had worked for Mattel designing toys, and had done some design work on Blade Runner. Scheffe had around 18 days to create his first mock up of K.I.T.T. for the network.  Stuntman Jack Gill says the car was dropped about an inch and a half from GM's stock height. The car also had around $2,000,000 worth of modifications. Spare cars were always on hand, and Universal eventually ...
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January 20, 1909 – GM buys into Oakland Motor Car Company, later becomes Pontiac
20Jan By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day

January 20, 1909 – GM buys into Oakland Motor Car Company, later becomes Pontiac

After just one year of production, Oakland Motor Car Company principal founder Edward Murphy sold half the company to General Motors on this day in 1909. General Motors had been founded just four months prior, and already had a stake in Buick and Oldsmobile. When Murphy died the following summer, GM founder William Durant made sure his new company acquired the rest of Oakland's stock. Oakland became GM's entry level car, where it competed with the Ford Model T. Sales were modest for the Oakland division, but the introduction of a V8 in 1916 pushed sales to about 35,000 for the year. When GM acquired Chevrolet in 1917, a company also co-founded by Durant, Oakland moved up a slot on the price ladder. Though it sat above Chevy, GM had a long list of makes to place above it. In the ea...
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January 3, 1926 – Pontiac debuts
3Jan By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day

January 3, 1926 – Pontiac debuts

When it comes to car histories, Pontiac has one of the most interesting beginnings. It was on this day in automotive history in 1926, General Motors officially introduced Pontiac at the New York Auto Show as a companion brand to their modestly priced Oakland line. Soon after Pontiac sales began, it far outsold its partner. The increasing sales figures led GM to shut down Oakland in 1932 and focus on their hot new car. Pontiac thus became the only automotive companion marque to survive its parent company.  By 1928 Pontiac was the United State's top-selling six cylinder car, with just shy of 77,000 Pontiac Chiefs sold within its first year of production. Even as the Great Depression took hold, Pontiac thrived as the cheapest available straight 8 car available in 1933. The brand saw c...
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March 20, 1988 – The last Pontiac Fiero
20Mar By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
Cheap Classic Cars, Future Collectibles, This Day

March 20, 1988 – The last Pontiac Fiero

The last Pontiac Fiero left the assembly line on this day in 1988. The mid-engined sports car first hit the market in 1983. Not only was this Pontiac's first two seater since 1938, but it was the first, mass-produced mid-engine sports car to come from any U.S. automaker. Above: 1985 Pontiac Fiero. By Mr.choppers - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0Top: 1988 Pontiac Fiero A total of 370,168 Fieros left the line during its short five year run. Comparatively, just 163,000 Toyota MR2s sold during its first five years, starting in 1984. While it appeared to have commercial success, the Fiero, which translates from Spanish to mean proud, fierce, or bold, suffered from poor press related to a lack of performance and reliability. Today, 1988 model year Fieros are highly sought by collectors du...
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Dusty & Rusty – 1973 Pontiac Firebird
27Apr By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
Dusty & Rusty

Dusty & Rusty – 1973 Pontiac Firebird

If you've been channeling your inner Burt Reynolds, this car may be for you. While it is four years younger than the Firebird Trans Am that Reynolds out ran the smokies in, this car could make a great base for a replica. The seller of this 1973 Pontiac Firebird for sale on Craigslist in Portland, Oregon lists the car as a running, driving survivor with only 60,000 miles, though they recommend trailering it home. For a fairly firm $8,500, could this dusty and rusty Firebird be your next pet Phoenix? Nice neighbor! In 1973 Pontiac introduced the Super Duty 455 V8 that produced 310 horsepower as the top of the line engine for the Firebird. This car does not have that. It is equipped with a Pontiac 350 and is backed by an automatic trans. While not the most exciting driveline, it does ...
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This Day in Automotive History is a transportation history, car history and general automotive history website dedicated to providing informative and entertaining content. Our goal is to enlighten our readers by producing and publishing automotive content on a wide range of topics, including famous cars, important automotive inventors and engineers and other historic automobile related events, places and people. We encourage you to share our page and connect with us on Facebook or sign up for our automotive history newsletter at the top of this page. If you have any questions about the content we publish, including our car videos and car history pictures and text and the use of them, please don’t hesitate to contact us using the below email address. On occasion we post classic cars for sale from Craigslist, Facebook and other online marketplaces. We utilize imagery from those ads in a fair use fashion. This includes barn finds for sale, muscle cars for sale, vans for sale, station wagons for sale, trucks for sale and other affordable old cars for sale. If you’d like your car featured, reach out to us!

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